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Kelly Jones #3
Gatekeeper
From the moment sixteen-year-old Madison Grant is abducted, an unthinkable terrorist plot is set in motion—pitting Special Agent Kelly Jones against her most powerful adversary yet. The kidnapper's ransom demands aren't monetary…they come at a cost that no American can afford to pay.
As Kelly's fiancé, Jake Riley, races to find Madison, Kelly is assigned to another disturbing the murder and dismemberment of a senator. At first the two cases don't appear to be related. But as Kelly navigates her way through the darkest communities of America—from skinheads to biker gangs to border militias—she discovers a horrible truth. A shadowy figure who calls himself The Gatekeeper is uniting hate groups, opening the door to the worst homegrown attack in American history.
As Kelly's fiancé, Jake Riley, races to find Madison, Kelly is assigned to another disturbing the murder and dismemberment of a senator. At first the two cases don't appear to be related. But as Kelly navigates her way through the darkest communities of America—from skinheads to biker gangs to border militias—she discovers a horrible truth. A shadowy figure who calls himself The Gatekeeper is uniting hate groups, opening the door to the worst homegrown attack in American history.
Paperback
First published October 15, 2009
17 people are currently reading
391 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Gagnon
37 books725 followersMichelle Gagnon is a former modern dancer, bartender, dog walker, model, personal trainer, and Russian supper club performer. Her bestselling adult thrillers THE TUNNELS, BONEYARD, THE GATEKEEPER, and KIDNAP & RANSOM have been published in North America, France, Denmark, Spain, Argentina, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Australia. BONEYARD was a finalist for a 2009 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.
The first book in her Young Adult PERSEFONE trilogy, DON'T TURN AROUND, was selected as one of the best books of 2012 by the American Library Association, Entertainment Weekly Magazine, and Kirkus. It was nominated for an ITW Thriller award, and was a Junior Library Guild and Indienext pick. Along with DON'T LOOK NOW and DON'T LET GO, the entire series received multiple starred reviews and state library awards.
UNEARTHLY THINGS is a modernized, deconstructed version of Jane Eyre set in the world of San Francisco high society. (SoHo Teen, 2017)
Her latest adult novel, KILLING ME, is a neo-noir thriller about unlikely heroines who hunt serial killers.
Michelle lives in Los Angeles, where she is currently attaining a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology.
Follow her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MichelleGagno...
or Twitter: @Michelle_Gagnon
The first book in her Young Adult PERSEFONE trilogy, DON'T TURN AROUND, was selected as one of the best books of 2012 by the American Library Association, Entertainment Weekly Magazine, and Kirkus. It was nominated for an ITW Thriller award, and was a Junior Library Guild and Indienext pick. Along with DON'T LOOK NOW and DON'T LET GO, the entire series received multiple starred reviews and state library awards.
UNEARTHLY THINGS is a modernized, deconstructed version of Jane Eyre set in the world of San Francisco high society. (SoHo Teen, 2017)
Her latest adult novel, KILLING ME, is a neo-noir thriller about unlikely heroines who hunt serial killers.
Michelle lives in Los Angeles, where she is currently attaining a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology.
Follow her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MichelleGagno...
or Twitter: @Michelle_Gagnon
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
February 4, 2018
Book #3 in Kelly Jones series. Not my favorite book in the series. Mainly due to subject matter. 2.5 stars
February 28, 2023
Michelle Gagnon’s 2009 book, The Gatekeeper, is an exceptionally prescient work of fiction and especially fun read. I’m not saying Gagnon’s book foresaw the rise of populism and the hard turn toward xenophobia the Republican Party took shortly thereafter, or certainly the rise of Trump as the flagbearer of both currents pulsing through our body politic, but I’m not not saying it, either. Seriously, it is rather striking, though, that there is even a Trump-like figure within the book who tries to capitalize off of a coup attempt of sorts!
I grabbed Gagnon’s book off my bookshelf yesterday because I saw Lee Child’s accurate blurb on the cover, “High stakes, tension, excitement — I loved The Gatekeeper!” Blurbs work! Once I got rolling with the book, it didn’t take long to turn into a page-turner. You know you’re ready a fun fiction book when it’s 200 pages later, and you stand up to stretch your back (at least, I stand up to stretch my back), and it didn’t feel like 200 pages later.
The Gatekeeper I believe is the third in Gagnon’s FBI Special Agent Kelly Jones series, with Jones characterized as a no-nonsense, smart agent, who tries to abide by the rules, and is peripherally worried about her fiancé, Jake Riley, not only because he is more willing to flout the rules, but also because their relationship seems rocky at best (due to work, geographical distance, revaluating if they have the “spark” as a couple, and Jake, it should be said, seems to be infatuated with his “friend” and business partner, Syd). Jake and Syd started their own kidnap and ransom agency to help track down kidnapped corporate persons in foreign countries, but Syd, as a favor to her boyfriend, Randall, takes on his case when his 16-year-old daughter, Madison, is kidnapped. We learn that Randall handles low-level radioactive waste disposal and storage for the United States government.
Simultaneously, we learn that Jackson Burke, inspired by Timothy McVeigh, is trying to coral all the skinheads, Aryans, Minuteman, and other racist groups together under his direction to orchestrate a false flag operation wherein they first, kill a U.S. Senator (and Burke takes his seat), and then set off three dirty bombs in immigration-heavy cities in the United States (San Diego, Dallas, and Phoenix) and put the blame on illegal Mexicans. The goal, aside from Burke gaining power, is to “take America back” from the illegals who have taken over the country. The first part of the plan goes off without a hitch. The second is what involves Randall, his job, and capitalizing on his vulnerability after his divorce to his wife. They cajole him with money at first, and then up the stakes by taking Madison.
The kidnapping theatrics and the nonexistent job Randall does aside, does any of this feel like a foreshadowing of where the Republican Party is these days, and the rise of such hate groups animated in particular around so-called “illegal” immigrants? Burke is a businessman with no prior government experience, a teetotaler (until his plans go up in, uh, smoke later), and has obvious disdain for the very people he claims to be the spokesperson and leader of (the “rednecks,” as he calls them). Again, does any of this sound like the foreshadowing of a certain somebody? I couldn’t resist noticing these parallels, and again, this is a book that came out in 2009. Gagnon said she was sparked to write the book after a discussion with a FBI friend of hers about how in the United States, there was both the rise of these domestic hate groups and a corresponding diminishing of focus on them in favor of foreign threats, such as Al-Qaeda, because of 9/11.
The issue, of course, with hate groups like that these is they are unorganized and disparate. That’s why Gagnon’s book imagines, what if they weren’t? And, what if they had a populist leader to unify and lead them? We’ve seen the fruits of where that can lead (attacks on the very seat of the United States government, for example). Fortunately, nothing as dramatic as the possibility of multiple dirty bombs, like in her book. Yet.
Gagnon’s book, which starts with a rather basic, if terrifying, kidnapping and ransom scheme, spins out into something much larger, more odious, and again, impressively prescient.
To stop the dirty bombs false flag operation are Jones, Riley, Syd, and other FBI agents, including Jones’ partner, Agent Rodriguez, a Hispanic, who ends up proving to be more interesting than he initially appeared. Syd comes from “the Agency,” aka the CIA. What frustrated me about the plot to stop … the dirty bomb plot — and this isn’t a fault of Gagnon; in fact, I think it reads entirely true to form, which is why it’s frustrating! — is that the various FBI agents, field offices, Jones, Riley, Syd, and even the FBI versus the local police, get in pissing matches over who has control over the case and who gets a say in the direction of the case, that it actively hinders stopping the false flag operation. But again, I think that’s true to form in reality, although supposedly that was corrected after 9/11 with better intelligence sharing, databases across national, state, and local agencies, and of course, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. But color me skeptical.
What’s particularly fun, is that Jones and Riley, unbeknownst to the other, are working the exact same case, just different ends of it, and they don’t realize it until 275 pages in or so. As a matter of fact, arguably, they would have realized it sooner (and maybe solved the case sooner!), if they were on better personal communicative terms. Alas. The dirty bomb slated for Phoenix does go off, but Randall, before being executed, was able to ensure the “dirty” part of it — the radioactive material — wouldn’t detonate, thus, saving scores of people. The bomb in Dallas is foiled without incidence. As for San Diego, our protagonist, Jones, is able to stop the bomb from going off, but the person with the detonator (which was being jammed by the FBI) had a back-up C-4 explosive, killing and maiming the nearby agents, including Jones.
The books ends with her in a coma, and without a definitive answer to whether she will come out of it. As for Burke, Syd, being all “Agency” and such, clandestinely breaks into Burke’s Virginian home and tampers with his blood pressure medication to make it appear like he he had a heart attack. She wanted to make sure he got dealt his comeuppance since politicians seem to always skate past any justice.
Overall, I think more people should read this book! I can’t get over a.) how much fun it was from a pure book-reading experience; I devoured it easily over two days; and b.) how much it seemed like something that could’ve been written in 2023 in response to the last seven or eight years of headlines rather than something written in 2009. That Gagnon’s book to date has only 253 ratings on Goodreads is a shame, because more eyes and minds should reckon with its story. It’s pretty freaky to consider the potential dangers, to say the least, and I think her warning between the lines that we like to think we’re prepared, especially after 9/11, but maybe we’re not. We are a big country, after all, and the FBI can’t monitor everything (nor should they, given civil liberty safeguards), not to say anything of issues like radioactivity going unmonitored.
But yeah, I’ll hop off my soapbox that I could ramble on for a lot longer; I really enjoyed this book, if you can’t tell. I’m delighted to see Gagnon has another book coming out this year. I’ll be adding it to my “to-read” list.
I grabbed Gagnon’s book off my bookshelf yesterday because I saw Lee Child’s accurate blurb on the cover, “High stakes, tension, excitement — I loved The Gatekeeper!” Blurbs work! Once I got rolling with the book, it didn’t take long to turn into a page-turner. You know you’re ready a fun fiction book when it’s 200 pages later, and you stand up to stretch your back (at least, I stand up to stretch my back), and it didn’t feel like 200 pages later.
The Gatekeeper I believe is the third in Gagnon’s FBI Special Agent Kelly Jones series, with Jones characterized as a no-nonsense, smart agent, who tries to abide by the rules, and is peripherally worried about her fiancé, Jake Riley, not only because he is more willing to flout the rules, but also because their relationship seems rocky at best (due to work, geographical distance, revaluating if they have the “spark” as a couple, and Jake, it should be said, seems to be infatuated with his “friend” and business partner, Syd). Jake and Syd started their own kidnap and ransom agency to help track down kidnapped corporate persons in foreign countries, but Syd, as a favor to her boyfriend, Randall, takes on his case when his 16-year-old daughter, Madison, is kidnapped. We learn that Randall handles low-level radioactive waste disposal and storage for the United States government.
Simultaneously, we learn that Jackson Burke, inspired by Timothy McVeigh, is trying to coral all the skinheads, Aryans, Minuteman, and other racist groups together under his direction to orchestrate a false flag operation wherein they first, kill a U.S. Senator (and Burke takes his seat), and then set off three dirty bombs in immigration-heavy cities in the United States (San Diego, Dallas, and Phoenix) and put the blame on illegal Mexicans. The goal, aside from Burke gaining power, is to “take America back” from the illegals who have taken over the country. The first part of the plan goes off without a hitch. The second is what involves Randall, his job, and capitalizing on his vulnerability after his divorce to his wife. They cajole him with money at first, and then up the stakes by taking Madison.
The kidnapping theatrics and the nonexistent job Randall does aside, does any of this feel like a foreshadowing of where the Republican Party is these days, and the rise of such hate groups animated in particular around so-called “illegal” immigrants? Burke is a businessman with no prior government experience, a teetotaler (until his plans go up in, uh, smoke later), and has obvious disdain for the very people he claims to be the spokesperson and leader of (the “rednecks,” as he calls them). Again, does any of this sound like the foreshadowing of a certain somebody? I couldn’t resist noticing these parallels, and again, this is a book that came out in 2009. Gagnon said she was sparked to write the book after a discussion with a FBI friend of hers about how in the United States, there was both the rise of these domestic hate groups and a corresponding diminishing of focus on them in favor of foreign threats, such as Al-Qaeda, because of 9/11.
The issue, of course, with hate groups like that these is they are unorganized and disparate. That’s why Gagnon’s book imagines, what if they weren’t? And, what if they had a populist leader to unify and lead them? We’ve seen the fruits of where that can lead (attacks on the very seat of the United States government, for example). Fortunately, nothing as dramatic as the possibility of multiple dirty bombs, like in her book. Yet.
Gagnon’s book, which starts with a rather basic, if terrifying, kidnapping and ransom scheme, spins out into something much larger, more odious, and again, impressively prescient.
To stop the dirty bombs false flag operation are Jones, Riley, Syd, and other FBI agents, including Jones’ partner, Agent Rodriguez, a Hispanic, who ends up proving to be more interesting than he initially appeared. Syd comes from “the Agency,” aka the CIA. What frustrated me about the plot to stop … the dirty bomb plot — and this isn’t a fault of Gagnon; in fact, I think it reads entirely true to form, which is why it’s frustrating! — is that the various FBI agents, field offices, Jones, Riley, Syd, and even the FBI versus the local police, get in pissing matches over who has control over the case and who gets a say in the direction of the case, that it actively hinders stopping the false flag operation. But again, I think that’s true to form in reality, although supposedly that was corrected after 9/11 with better intelligence sharing, databases across national, state, and local agencies, and of course, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. But color me skeptical.
What’s particularly fun, is that Jones and Riley, unbeknownst to the other, are working the exact same case, just different ends of it, and they don’t realize it until 275 pages in or so. As a matter of fact, arguably, they would have realized it sooner (and maybe solved the case sooner!), if they were on better personal communicative terms. Alas. The dirty bomb slated for Phoenix does go off, but Randall, before being executed, was able to ensure the “dirty” part of it — the radioactive material — wouldn’t detonate, thus, saving scores of people. The bomb in Dallas is foiled without incidence. As for San Diego, our protagonist, Jones, is able to stop the bomb from going off, but the person with the detonator (which was being jammed by the FBI) had a back-up C-4 explosive, killing and maiming the nearby agents, including Jones.
The books ends with her in a coma, and without a definitive answer to whether she will come out of it. As for Burke, Syd, being all “Agency” and such, clandestinely breaks into Burke’s Virginian home and tampers with his blood pressure medication to make it appear like he he had a heart attack. She wanted to make sure he got dealt his comeuppance since politicians seem to always skate past any justice.
Overall, I think more people should read this book! I can’t get over a.) how much fun it was from a pure book-reading experience; I devoured it easily over two days; and b.) how much it seemed like something that could’ve been written in 2023 in response to the last seven or eight years of headlines rather than something written in 2009. That Gagnon’s book to date has only 253 ratings on Goodreads is a shame, because more eyes and minds should reckon with its story. It’s pretty freaky to consider the potential dangers, to say the least, and I think her warning between the lines that we like to think we’re prepared, especially after 9/11, but maybe we’re not. We are a big country, after all, and the FBI can’t monitor everything (nor should they, given civil liberty safeguards), not to say anything of issues like radioactivity going unmonitored.
But yeah, I’ll hop off my soapbox that I could ramble on for a lot longer; I really enjoyed this book, if you can’t tell. I’m delighted to see Gagnon has another book coming out this year. I’ll be adding it to my “to-read” list.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2012
love Michelle gagnon and her series Kelly Jones...
there is a girl missing and this becomes Jake and syds first real business venture in there new company .. the longhorn group .. named cuz Jake and syd are Texas natives . the action of finding the girl gets intense ... the gun fire and the skin heads after them.. syds men are doing all they can to keep everyone safe...meanwhile Kelly is dealing with a murdered governor and starts checking out leads and discovering strange activity in warehouses .. come to find out .. Jake's and Kelly's investigations are intertwined ... the girl that's missing .. her dad ends up taken and required.to jeopardize thousands of people or his family dies ... he is told to make the gamma rays so they will become dust when the bomb hits ... the bombs are set for July.4th to show America and the immigrants that .. the Mexican immigrants should not be here .. its to teach everyone a lesson and make America how it used to be ... the skin heads are trying desperately to make everything go smoothly ... but with Jake and Syd and Kelly and Danny rodregous in the mix ... nothing every goes as planned for the criminals .
this books is action packed ... a run till the very end and ... the ending is an utter shock . the last book kidnap and random is also an amazing read ... I would recommend to read the book series in the correct order though!
there is a girl missing and this becomes Jake and syds first real business venture in there new company .. the longhorn group .. named cuz Jake and syd are Texas natives . the action of finding the girl gets intense ... the gun fire and the skin heads after them.. syds men are doing all they can to keep everyone safe...meanwhile Kelly is dealing with a murdered governor and starts checking out leads and discovering strange activity in warehouses .. come to find out .. Jake's and Kelly's investigations are intertwined ... the girl that's missing .. her dad ends up taken and required.to jeopardize thousands of people or his family dies ... he is told to make the gamma rays so they will become dust when the bomb hits ... the bombs are set for July.4th to show America and the immigrants that .. the Mexican immigrants should not be here .. its to teach everyone a lesson and make America how it used to be ... the skin heads are trying desperately to make everything go smoothly ... but with Jake and Syd and Kelly and Danny rodregous in the mix ... nothing every goes as planned for the criminals .
this books is action packed ... a run till the very end and ... the ending is an utter shock . the last book kidnap and random is also an amazing read ... I would recommend to read the book series in the correct order though!
July 15, 2015
Whoa.
It's hard to say what the larger point of this book is. The two main plots aren't subtle. Kelly's involves a dismembered Arizona Senator and Jake's a kidnapped daughter of a physicist. It's sort of sad that because of the fact that they're on different cases (Kelly with the FBI and Jake's first case with his own new private security firm) they don't have many scenes together that don't take place over the phone. In the previous two books I thought that some of the best scenes were the ones between Jake and Kelly.
Still, the book was a strongly written one with a main couple of plots that were both simple and complex with a twist here and there to make it interesting.
Probably the most scary part of the novel is the truth that Gagnon based it on. The fact that she had to make up a fictional character that takes care and tracks dangerous material that could kill us all makes you think, and a good book shouldn't just make you think about the fiction, but also the issues the story brings up. The Gatekeeper did that.
I heartily recommend the book to anyone, though, if someone's looking for a cozy, this isn't it.
It's hard to say what the larger point of this book is. The two main plots aren't subtle. Kelly's involves a dismembered Arizona Senator and Jake's a kidnapped daughter of a physicist. It's sort of sad that because of the fact that they're on different cases (Kelly with the FBI and Jake's first case with his own new private security firm) they don't have many scenes together that don't take place over the phone. In the previous two books I thought that some of the best scenes were the ones between Jake and Kelly.
Still, the book was a strongly written one with a main couple of plots that were both simple and complex with a twist here and there to make it interesting.
Probably the most scary part of the novel is the truth that Gagnon based it on. The fact that she had to make up a fictional character that takes care and tracks dangerous material that could kill us all makes you think, and a good book shouldn't just make you think about the fiction, but also the issues the story brings up. The Gatekeeper did that.
I heartily recommend the book to anyone, though, if someone's looking for a cozy, this isn't it.
November 4, 2014
In the Gatekeeper, the third book of the Kelly Jones Thriller series, this dealt with domestic terrorism that serial killers, right in our backyard. This was the best one yet. From Arizona to New York and Texas, this was action-packed with every twist and turn on every page. For Kelly and Jake, this one changed everything, when they've gotten engaged. Kelly worked on a disturbing case of someone dismembering senators, when Jake was sent to work to rescue an abducted teen. But little did they know, both cases would be related by someone who was the leader of reuniting hate groups to terrorize our own country with an explosive ending. There was even a bit of a mini love triangle and shocking twists in the end, making you want to know more and more for the final installment. Hands down, this was a winner and the series kept getting better.
November 24, 2009
i picked this up in mid-series, but i tell you, i couldn't put it down from page one. michelle has broken the crime/mystery mold here. the plot is completely original, the characters engaging. i've been on a big "Scarpetta" kick recently, but Agent Kelly Jones from "The Gatekeeper" gives Kay a run for her money.
May 24, 2010
Honestly, the weakest of the Kelly books. It starts so strong, but it takes forever for the two plots come together and make sense. Took much longer to read than the others because it wasn't as enjoyable.
June 7, 2011
Another winner from Michelle Gagnon. I got this for Christmas 2009 and could not put it down. I like the fact that each of Michelle's novels are unique in premise, setting, plot, etc and yet keep the characters that we have grown to love. I am looking forward to the next one!
January 21, 2010
This was a really fun fast read. I had not read any of her books before. It kept me interested from the first page till the last. I would definately recommend this for a fun change of pace!
February 7, 2011
My favorite of her books so far, never a point when nothing is happening.
January 30, 2020
I chose this book more out of curiosity than anything else. In Googling or searching my own name on different websites I sometimes come up with the name Michelle Gagnon. We are from different places and walks of life but may be related somewhere down the genealogical road. Her book, The Gatekeeper gets praise from best selling Author Lee Child...I've often wondered how an aspiring author gets a plug like that.
Anyway, I found The Gatekeeper a bit tough to get into and keep track of with two sets (four in total) of protagonists who worked at building the story from different angles. The problem was compounded by my own writing - my creative wheels interfered with my reading wheels. It seems I have a hard time keeping the two separate so when I'm in the writing mode, I'm not reading much.
The plot was descent but I think it's been done to death...special agents racing to stop the terrorists from setting off bombs in major US cities.
Although predictable, the story still worked and managed to be entertaining, but I won't be racing out in search of another of my long-lost cousin's novels.
Anyway, I found The Gatekeeper a bit tough to get into and keep track of with two sets (four in total) of protagonists who worked at building the story from different angles. The problem was compounded by my own writing - my creative wheels interfered with my reading wheels. It seems I have a hard time keeping the two separate so when I'm in the writing mode, I'm not reading much.
The plot was descent but I think it's been done to death...special agents racing to stop the terrorists from setting off bombs in major US cities.
Although predictable, the story still worked and managed to be entertaining, but I won't be racing out in search of another of my long-lost cousin's novels.
May 25, 2023
I started this series years ago, but never finished book two. Well after reading book two, I decided to reread book one which is rare for me.Both of these novels were fast paced, engaging and made you think about them while not reading them.
We have moved forward in time, personal relationships have developed and professional careers have hit a snag ( but never really explained)
there is two different stories going on and the only reason they connect is to make the reader ask why too many times. So many things didn't connect smoothly, too many dumb female cop moments ( sorry being an FBI agent, you should know secure scene first) why so many unnecessary characters and on and on and on
We have moved forward in time, personal relationships have developed and professional careers have hit a snag ( but never really explained)
there is two different stories going on and the only reason they connect is to make the reader ask why too many times. So many things didn't connect smoothly, too many dumb female cop moments ( sorry being an FBI agent, you should know secure scene first) why so many unnecessary characters and on and on and on
October 22, 2020
Meh...I didn't care for this installment. Girls gets kidnapped and held captive, ok I liked that part, then she some hoe escapes, unlikely, dad gets kidnapped in her place, no way, he makes a dirty bomb for bad guys, sure he does, then bad guys start blowing things up, all while good guys chase after them spewing radiation and physics mumbo-jumbo. No thanks, this was a must miss. Only finished it because the first half of the book was good and went way downhill from there. It had possibility, but missed the mark for sure. No thriller here, just a long drawn out mess.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2021
The plotting feels like a 90's action-thriller movie. Entertaining to read but need polishing with the plot. Appalled how protagonist take the course of action to the situation but nevertheless, its a can't-put-down.
June 8, 2023
Number 3 was good. Fast paced, lots of action, good story lines and nice twists. Alas, not very much sex only innuendoes. Will there be a Kelly Jones #4 and will I read it? I don't know the answer to either question.
May 4, 2018
Round up to 2.5 stars.
November 2, 2018
I really liked this story. The subject of matter was really interesting and all the twists made the reading of this book even better.
December 7, 2018
Enjoyable and fast-paced. Very timely in the political arena we now face. Want to read the first two and wonder if there is a fourth in the series.
January 12, 2019
Fast read. Wanted to know what was going to happen next.
February 28, 2020
Stock characters, wooden dialogue. I couldn't finish this book.
November 27, 2024
Trop long
July 3, 2016
Have you ever read a book that you make yourself read again in hopes that the second time around is much better than the first?
I enjoyed The Gatekeeper the first time I read it. I didn't like it and I didn't hate it. Just simply enjoyed it. The second time around, unfortunately, didn't change my opinion either way. It was a good read, with a pretty interesting turn of events and storyline. Just not anything exciting.
To be honest, I found myself fascinated with the true facts that Gagnon added to the plot. Any historical references about radiation contaminations, dirty bombs, etc. I would stop reading just to do some online research on it. Things like that have always interested me but I rarely stop what I'm doing to read up on it.
The true concept of this book is an eye opener and it's really hard to state an honest opinion without starting a word war. I don't follow news enough to form an opinion worth backing up on a lot of things mentioned: immigration, for example, however I must say that America does need to start worrying about their own problems instead of sticking their noses in business that doesn't involve them.
I also did not like Syd. I had a feeling she wasn't to be trusted from the beginning and I was only half right. The ending was also a disappointment in that The Gatekeeper was written so it could be a stand alone - I didn't sense anything was missing having not read anything else in the Kelly Jones series - book, but the ending basically made you think "great, now I gotta read the next one." That is, if you wanted to find out what happened.
I enjoyed The Gatekeeper the first time I read it. I didn't like it and I didn't hate it. Just simply enjoyed it. The second time around, unfortunately, didn't change my opinion either way. It was a good read, with a pretty interesting turn of events and storyline. Just not anything exciting.
To be honest, I found myself fascinated with the true facts that Gagnon added to the plot. Any historical references about radiation contaminations, dirty bombs, etc. I would stop reading just to do some online research on it. Things like that have always interested me but I rarely stop what I'm doing to read up on it.
The true concept of this book is an eye opener and it's really hard to state an honest opinion without starting a word war. I don't follow news enough to form an opinion worth backing up on a lot of things mentioned: immigration, for example, however I must say that America does need to start worrying about their own problems instead of sticking their noses in business that doesn't involve them.
I also did not like Syd. I had a feeling she wasn't to be trusted from the beginning and I was only half right. The ending was also a disappointment in that The Gatekeeper was written so it could be a stand alone - I didn't sense anything was missing having not read anything else in the Kelly Jones series - book, but the ending basically made you think "great, now I gotta read the next one." That is, if you wanted to find out what happened.
March 26, 2010
I won this book on First Reads. There was a mix up and I never received it and the author was kind enough to send me out a signed copy!
I *REALLY* liked this book. The characters drew me in, and then all the action kept me turning the pages. What's scary is, the premise in the book - I could see it possibly happening.
Loved Jake & Syd, and Kelly! Loved how their cases intertwined. Loved all the suspense and the evil politician!
Would love to read more by this author!!
I *REALLY* liked this book. The characters drew me in, and then all the action kept me turning the pages. What's scary is, the premise in the book - I could see it possibly happening.
Loved Jake & Syd, and Kelly! Loved how their cases intertwined. Loved all the suspense and the evil politician!
Would love to read more by this author!!
April 6, 2012
Not my type of book at all: politics, terrorism, hate groups - not things that catch my interest or that I enjoy reading about. I got this book because I'd read the previous one featuring these characters. After this one, I'm not sure I'd read more by this author. There were loose ends too, and I'm not even totally sure how it ended (which is probably intentional for the next book, but, again, not the type of ending I like!). Overall, disappointed.
November 5, 2009
This book is full of action and up-to-date political commentary. Michelle Gagnon does a great job keeping the story going, and tying it all together in the end.
Warning: The language is pretty gritty. There are some f-bombs in there. I know it's to make it realistic, but I wish someone could go through and mark them all out for me. :D
Warning: The language is pretty gritty. There are some f-bombs in there. I know it's to make it realistic, but I wish someone could go through and mark them all out for me. :D
December 29, 2009
I enjoyed the story, particularly the pace. I had no idea what was coming and I was drawn in to keep reading and not put it down. Kelly and Madison were my favorite characters.
I thought it was far fetched that Madison would be so smart yet not even tell her best friend about her plan. I also thought there would be more concern and emotion from friends/family surrounding her and Randall.
I thought it was far fetched that Madison would be so smart yet not even tell her best friend about her plan. I also thought there would be more concern and emotion from friends/family surrounding her and Randall.
August 5, 2013
Two different cases; Kelly's working on finding the person(s) responsible for dismembering a U. S. Senator from Arizona while Jake has his hands full with a new venture, his partner, and finding the kidnapped daughter of a nuclear physicist well versed on radioactive particles. Hate groups, immigration, politics are involved in both cases and when they converge, everything hits the fan.
February 24, 2010
I won this on first reads.
I got this one for a friend of mine who really loved it. She had to call me with every new twist and turn. She said I could not have it back to read it myself. I guess I will have to go borrow it back.
I got this one for a friend of mine who really loved it. She had to call me with every new twist and turn. She said I could not have it back to read it myself. I guess I will have to go borrow it back.
November 30, 2009
A new thriller/writer I picked up at Bouchercon. Started out great, storyline and ending were predictable.
December 26, 2009
The premise is scary precisely because it is entirely too plausible.
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